Arthur a Bland
Encyclopedia
Arthur a Bland is, in English
folklore
, a member of Robin Hood
's Merry Men
, though his chief appearance is in the ballad
in which he joins the band. Arthur a Bland is also the name of a British Waterways tug.
in the Child collection
, Robin Hood and the Tanner
. He is going through Sherwood when Robin accuses him of poaching. When they fight and Arthur beats Robin, Robin invites him to join the band. In some versions, he is Little John
's cousin.
versions tend to be less refined than the Childe Ballads, perhaps indicating a more original type of language.
For instance, when Robin Hood has been beaten by Arthur, Little John comes over the hill and Robin tells him what has happened:
Childe's version
"O what is the matter?" then said Little John,
"Master, I pray you tell;
Why do you stand with your staff in your hand?
I fear all is not well."
"O man, I do stand, and he makes me to stand,
The tanner that stands thee beside;
He is a bonny blade, and master of his trade,
For soundly he hath tanned my hide."
Mummers Play
version
"What is the matter master?'
Pray unto me tell
To see you stand
Your staff in hand
I fear it's all not well."
"This tanner he stands he makes me to stand
He's the tanner-hood that stand by my side
He's a bonny blade o his master's trade
So well he a'tanned me hide."
in his The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
set the bout between Little John
and Arthur a Bland, and had Arthur appear in various later adventures as a minor character.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
, a member of Robin Hood
Robin Hood
Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
's Merry Men
Merry Men
The Merry Men are the group of outlaws who followed Robin Hood, according to English folklore. An early use of the phrase "merry men" occurs in the oldest known Robin Hood ballad, "Robin Hood and the Monk", which survives in a manuscript completed around 1450. The word "merry" in this and other...
, though his chief appearance is in the ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
in which he joins the band. Arthur a Bland is also the name of a British Waterways tug.
Ballads
Arthur a Bland appears in one balladBallad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
in the Child collection
Child Ballads
The Child Ballads are a collection of 305 ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, collected by Francis James Child in the late nineteenth century...
, Robin Hood and the Tanner
Robin Hood and the Tanner
-Synopsis:A tanner, Arthur a Bland, goes to Sherwood. Robin Hood appears and accuses him of poaching. They fight. Robin blows on his horn, summoning his men, and tells them that the man is certainly a tanner, as he has tanned his hide...
. He is going through Sherwood when Robin accuses him of poaching. When they fight and Arthur beats Robin, Robin invites him to join the band. In some versions, he is Little John
Little John
Little John was a legendary fellow outlaw of Robin Hood, and was said to be Robin's chief lieutenant and second-in-command of the Merry Men.-Folklore:He appears in the earliest recorded Robin Hood ballads and stories...
's cousin.
Mummer's Plays
In English Mummer's Plays Arthur a Bland's fight with Robin is incorporated into the general fight/death/healed setting. Most of the lines derive from the ballad, though there seems to be material from Robin Hood and the Shepherd mixed in. The lines of the Mummers PlayMummers Play
Mummers Plays are seasonal folk plays performed by troupes of actors known as mummers or guisers , originally from England , but later in other parts of the world...
versions tend to be less refined than the Childe Ballads, perhaps indicating a more original type of language.
For instance, when Robin Hood has been beaten by Arthur, Little John comes over the hill and Robin tells him what has happened:
Childe's version
"O what is the matter?" then said Little John,
"Master, I pray you tell;
Why do you stand with your staff in your hand?
I fear all is not well."
"O man, I do stand, and he makes me to stand,
The tanner that stands thee beside;
He is a bonny blade, and master of his trade,
For soundly he hath tanned my hide."
Mummers Play
Mummers Play
Mummers Plays are seasonal folk plays performed by troupes of actors known as mummers or guisers , originally from England , but later in other parts of the world...
version
"What is the matter master?'
Pray unto me tell
To see you stand
Your staff in hand
I fear it's all not well."
"This tanner he stands he makes me to stand
He's the tanner-hood that stand by my side
He's a bonny blade o his master's trade
So well he a'tanned me hide."
Later adaptations
The story reappeared in later versions. Howard PyleHoward Pyle
Howard Pyle was an American illustrator and author, primarily of books for young people. A native of Wilmington, Delaware, he spent the last year of his life in Florence, Italy.__FORCETOC__...
in his The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood of Great Renown in Nottinghamshire is an 1883 novel by the American illustrator and writer Howard Pyle. Consisting of a series of episodes in the story of the English outlaw Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men, the novel compiles traditional material into a...
set the bout between Little John
Little John
Little John was a legendary fellow outlaw of Robin Hood, and was said to be Robin's chief lieutenant and second-in-command of the Merry Men.-Folklore:He appears in the earliest recorded Robin Hood ballads and stories...
and Arthur a Bland, and had Arthur appear in various later adventures as a minor character.